As we do from time to time, GCP has scouted the web and found some really interesting sites for you to check out: The Educators' Spin On It: Recently voted "Best on Pinterest" by Parents Magazine, this pinterest board (found here) and website (found here) are chock full of interesting and creative ideas for fun projects for parents and [...]
It has been front page news for a few days now: L.A. Clippers owner Donald Sterling allegedly made some outrageously offensive racist comments about Black people to his Black and Hispanic girlfriend. Talk to your sons about this situation, and ask them what they would do if they played for or were the coach of the L.A. Clippers. The [...]
Did you know that April, in addition to being Poetry month and Mathematics month is also Volunteer month? (Who makes these designations, we ask?) Anyway, in April we pay tribute to the people who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in our communities. And here at GCP we are happy to spread the word about young Hector [...]
A good male friend recently described the relationship between his two teen sons as "non-existent". Different social circles, different schools, unconnected lives living in the same house. If one is away for a while, the other will eventually ask about him, but only casually, and he certainly doesn't want his brother to know that he cares. My friend assures [...]
Does your son's school offer arts education? If it is a New York City public school, there is a good chance it doesn't, according to a report recently released by the NYC Comptroller's office, and covered here by the New York Times. The report shows that 20 percent of NYC public schools lack any arts teachers, including roughly one [...]
Just a quick posting of two thought-provoking articles: In "Teaching My Son to Love Himself", found here, author Faye McCray wonders about the extent to which her son struggles with issues of identity when he finds a white girl is prettier than a Black one. A white father of an African-American son shares "What I Learned About Stop-and-Frisk From [...]
Have you thought about how much time your babysitter spends with your child vs. her device? We all know how tempting it is to have your connection to the world at your fingertips, calling to you with its rings, dings and whooshes every few minutes. How can you be sure your babysitter isn't heeding the calls of her device [...]
Celebrated children's and young adult book author Walter Dean Myers has a great essay asking "Where Are the People of Color in Children's Books?" in this past Sunday's New York Times. In his essay, found here, Myers responds to a recent report that only 93 of the 3,200 children's books published in 2013 were about African Americans. He describes [...]
Black boys as young as 10 years old are more likely than their White peers to be mistaken as older, less innocent, and more appropriate targets for police violence if accused of a crime, according to research conducted by UCLA psychologists. In their study, abstracted here, the researchers examined "whether Black boys are given the protections of childhood equally [...]
By now many of you who are focused on high school education have heard that there will be changes in the SAT beginning with the May 2016 test. This will affect ninth graders and below, so those of us with middle schoolers and high school freshmen need to pay special attention. So here's what the new SAT will look [...]